“Shorting connectors” are electrical connectors that include shorting systems and may be used where it is necessary to short a circuit upon disconnection from another circuit. For example, shorting connectors may be used in current monitoring circuits that include current transformers or in an airbag activation circuit. However, many existing shorting connectors may be limited to low voltage applications, while others are at risk to inadvertently short at the wrong time during connection or disconnection of the electrical circuits causing damage to the electrical system.
One application where shorting at the wrong time may damage an electrical system is in the connection of a component to a power supply. If the contacts of the shorting connector are still electrically connected to the power supply when the shorting system is activated, the power supply will be shorted. Shorting the power supply may damage the power supply requiring repair and potential replacement of the power supply.
This risk of shorting at the wrong time may be compounded by the difficulty in manufacturing the shorting connector. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,568 or the “'568 patent” discloses an electrical connector assembly with attachment for automatically shorting select conductors upon disconnection of a connector. The shorting system of the '568 patent uses elongated arms extending from a base portion to contact a pin of the connector when it is disconnected from a receptacle.
However, the shorting system of the '568 patent may have to be manufactured to relatively narrow tolerances because if the elongated arms are too short, the shorting system will prematurely activate. Conversely, if the elongated arms are too long, the elongated arms may interfere with the connection of the connector with the receptacle and may extend from the connection. Additionally, because the base and elongated arms are disposed near the pins of the shorting connector of the '568 patent, the shorting connector of the '568 patent may be inadvertently shorted by minor condensation or water preventing its use outside of a controlled environment. Furthermore, if the shorting connector of the '568 patent is removed at an angle, the pins may be shorted prior to electrical separation from the receptacle, which as discussed above may damage a connected power supply or the component.
The present invention is directed to overcome one or more of the problems as set forth above.